Fire-escape.



J. A. MATTERN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 16. 1918.

1,300,752, Pa tented Apr. 15,1919.

Uz'rnm inventor I 5551a J61 matte/rm, I

To all whom 225 may concern:

slidable clamp, withmeansfor automatically clamp will cause it to UNITED STATES PATENT on nc JACOBAFMATTERN, onions MOINES, IOWA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

j rmn-nscnrn.

Patented Ap1;. 1'5, 1919.

. Application .1i11y16, 1918. Serial No. 245,179.

Be itknown that'l, Jasmin. MATTERN, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of'Des- Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Fire-Escape, of which the following is aspecification. p y The object ofmyinvention is to provide a simple-and inexpensive fire escape which can or from one building to another.

readily be inoved from one room to another,

Moreparticularly it'is my object to pro vide a'fire escape comprising a rope or fleXible device having fastening 'devicesat its op posite ends, andhaving mounted thereon a holding the clamp lockedon the rope, said clamp havinga handle or the like whereby its grip on therope may be released, so that the weight of a' person-supp'orted on the slidedown therope at any desiredjspeedz- Still: a further'object is to provide such a deviceso constructed and arranged that the rope may be fastened by either. end and the clampdevice maybe used for sliding in either direction withrelation totherope.

Withthese and other objects in view my invention c'onsistsin the construction, are rangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereb the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and the accompanying drawin l illustrated in inwhich: H

Figure '1 shows my improved fire escape having one end extending to the interior of the building through a window therein.

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of a clamp" installed on a rope.

Fig. 3 shows a front elevation of the same. Fig. i shows a top or plan view of the clamp, the rope being shown in section.

Fig. 5 shows a face view of one of the cams; and

Fig. 6 shows a side elevation of the same.

In the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate generally a rope or suitable flexible device having at its ends rings 11 designed to be adjacent to a hook inside the building, so that the rope may be extended through the window to the outside of the building.

Mounted on the rope 10 is a clamp device comprising a pair of opposite coacting clamp members 12 and13 hinged along onelongi- 1 bers 12-and 13,the flanges 15 and16 willbe slightly spaced from each other.

Extended throughtheflanges 15 and 16 is a pair of spacedbolts 17 havingon their ends nuts 18. c L On eachboltl'T, adjacent to the flange 16, is a cam-faced washer 19 havingone flat sided edge 20 adjacent to the'clamp'member 13, which, by its engagement with the clamp member 13, prevents rotation'of the w'asher19.

Mounted on the upper bolt 17 is a lever or handle 21 having formed thereon adjacent to the washer 19 a cam face 22.

Mounted on the other bolt 22 is an arm 23 having a similar cam face. The arm 23 pivoted to the ends of a spring 25, which, at its otherend, is secured to the lever 21 and is designed to hold the lever 21 and arm 23 in such positions as to.

clampthe clampjmembers 12 and 13 firmly on the, rope 10. 1

\ In Figs. 2 and 3 I have shown the lever 21 and thecamsin their position assumed when the person using the fire escape moves the levertoposition for releasing the grip of the clampmem'bers on the rope.

'As soon as the person releases his hold on the lever, the spring25 moves theparts to position for tightening the grip of the clamp 011 the rope.

Secured to the clamp member 12 is a loop 26 on which is loosely mounted a ring 27, through which is extended a strap or the like 28. This loop 26 is also shaped and designed to form a handle which may be grasped by the operator in one hand and used to steady the machine, and to assist the operator in relieving the weight on the strap.

In the practical use of my improved fire escape, the user throws the loose end of the rope out through the window after one end of the rope has been securely fastened over a hook or the like. The strap 28 may then be placed around the body and the user climbs out of the window. The spring will hold the rope so tightly gripped as to prevent the descent of the user of the fire escape until the user grasps the lever 21 and moves it to 1ts position shown in Figs.-2 and-3-';-for moving the cam faces of the lever 21 and arm 23 to such positions with relation to the cam-faced washers 19 as to permit the spreading of the claniprmembers-r-l3pso that the clamp mem figures; in: the drawings, so that if the user bers togrip the rope.v

should become frightened his natural tendencywould be to draw downwardly on the handle ot the lever, which would simply assist, the .spring in causing the clamp 1nem' Howevexgany device is so made that in emergency if one person should useitheifire escape, then the next, person may simply pull intherope andlfasten the other end inside the building, and may descend with the clamp device simply reversed end fonend fromthe position shownin the drawings.

Itwillbeseenthaton account of the use of the yoke 26, the ring 27 and shoulder 28 I may be slid so as to be used conveniently in either of the positions of the'clamp devices. My improved fireescape is of very simple and inexpensive construction; is positive in its operation; 18': automatically rendered safe against too rapid descent by theuser; and

may be readily used when the clamp device is on-either' end of thearope, so that it is not necessary to slide the device over the rope from'one end tothe other after the-rope has,

been used once before it can be used agggainvv Somechanges may bevmade in the con- Gbplt ,of tliis' patent ma'y'jbe obtained for five cents each, by. aedi'esiiiglgthilCoiiiniliisibnehpf ziateiits; v

struction and arrangement the parts of improved device without departing from the essential-features purposes of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my application any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within the I seep-at of my-cla-ims I claim as my invention: a

1. In a device of he class d6Scr-ibed-,-;arop'e having fastening; devices at -dts ;ends,a a pair of clamp members :hi-nged together along one edge and designedttocgrip said rope said clamp members having at their opposite edges spaced: flanges, bolts vextended; through said flanges, cam-faced member's Onsaid bolts; a lever on one of said-bolts having-a coacting cam face,anarm-on the Otherofzs'aidgbolts having a coacting cam face, adink pivotedto said arm and'saidqlever for causing. them toact inr-unisomfa spring; secured to-one ofsaid clamp members and to saidaleven; for nor: mally holding, the parts. inposition witlrthe' rope gripped betweenthe clamp memberse .2. Ina device otthe class; described airope having fasteningdeviees at itsf ,end s,- apair of clamp members hinged tegether along one; edge and designed to v grip vsaid; rope,'- said;

clamp members: having. at. their opposite:

edges spaced flanges, bolts extended through said flanges, cam-faced members O1'-l-,lSELlCl bolts, ,a lever on: .one oi saidbolts'ahaving a coacting cam-face, an arm, onhthe other of said bolts havingan coacting, cam face, .a linle plvoted to S2116; aim; a d Sitld lever for caus ing them to act 1, n -un1son,;a spring secured to one of said; clamp member-stand; to: said lever for normal y holding the parts in position with the rope grippedbetween the clamp: members, 1 a, loop on one, of saidiclamp -memhere, a ring looselymounted on saidQloop, and a.holding nember'extendedithrough said;-

ring-.5 a Des Moines, Iowa, July 6,1918. I

.JAGOB;.A.

Washington, I). c. 

